Craft Quantities
Plan & Takeoffs

Job takeoff

External wall finish takeoff

Wrap, cladding and finish over a measured wall area.

A takeoff is the trade word for the shopping list a job produces — every material, and how much of each, worked out by its own cited calculator.

  • 2Measurements in
  • 3Trades out

Give the job once

Every figure on the right follows these, in the units you choose.

Been given a quote for this job?

Paste it into the external wall finish quote check: each line is read against these same calculators — what it leaves out, what it adds, and what to ask.

Check the quote

Every trade, from those dimensions

3 of 3 trades chosenNot pricedNot in project

then change a dimension, and each line shows what moved.

TradeQuantity
House Wrap Calculator
Base
1 roll
Lap allowance
+0 rolls · 10%, trade convention
Adjusted
1 roll
Order
1 roll, already whole
Why this quantity?
  1. Base quantity1 rollcalculatorHouse Wrap Calculator v1.1.0, headline with the lap allowance at 0%
  2. Lap allowance0 rollsworked outthe adjusted figure less the base, at 10% (the calculator's working figure, a trade convention)
  3. Adjusted quantity1 rollcalculatorHouse Wrap Calculator v1.1.0, headline with the lap allowance at 10%
  4. Order quantity1 rollworked out1 roll, already whole

Resting on

  • Wall length33 ftgivenyour wall length
  • Wall height9 ftgivenyour wall height
  • Lap Allowance (%)10%assumedthe House Wrap Calculator's default

The lap allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention.

Change any other figure on the House Wrap Calculator

1 roll
Siding CalculatorThe area to be covered, with a cutting allowance — not board face or a panel count. Divide it by the product's stated coverage, or for boards by the exposure for the run and then by the board length.
Base
2.97 squares
Waste factor
+0.297 squares · 10%, trade convention
Adjusted
3.27 squares
Order
3.27 squares (no pack size recorded)
Why this quantity?
  1. Base quantity2.97 squarescalculatorSiding Calculator v1.0.1, headline with the waste factor at 0%
  2. Waste factor0.297 squaresworked outthe adjusted figure less the base, at 10% (the calculator's working figure, a trade convention)
  3. Adjusted quantity3.27 squarescalculatorSiding Calculator v1.0.1, headline with the waste factor at 10%
  4. Order quantity3.27 squaresworked out3.27 squares (no pack size recorded)

Resting on

  • Wall length33 ftgivenyour wall length
  • Wall height9 ftgivenyour wall height
  • Number of Doors0assumedset by the External wall finish takeoff
  • Number of Windows0assumedset by the External wall finish takeoff
  • Waste Factor (%)10%assumedthe Siding Calculator's default

The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention.

Change any other figure on the Siding Calculator

3.27 squares
Exterior Paint Calculator
Base
2 gallons
Allowance
+0 gallons · none added
Adjusted
2 gallons
Order
2 gallons (no pack size recorded)
Why this quantity?
  1. Base quantity2 gallonscalculatorExterior Paint Calculator v1.0.1, headline
  2. Allowance0 gallonsworked outnone: the calculator adds no allowance, and none was added
  3. Adjusted quantity2 gallonsworked outthe base plus the allowance
  4. Order quantity2 gallonsworked out2 gallons (no pack size recorded)

Resting on

  • Wall length33 ftgivenyour wall length
  • Wall height9 ftgivenyour wall height
  • Number of Coats2assumedthe Exterior Paint Calculator's default

Change any other figure on the Exterior Paint Calculator

2 gallons
House Wrap Calculator
Base
1 roll
Lap allowance
+0 rolls · 10%, trade convention
Adjusted
1 roll
Order
1 roll, already whole
Why this quantity?
1 roll
Siding CalculatorThe area to be covered, with a cutting allowance — not board face or a panel count. Divide it by the product's stated coverage, or for boards by the exposure for the run and then by the board length.
Base
27 m²
Waste factor
+2.7 m² · 10%, trade convention
Adjusted
29.7 m²
Order
29.7 m² (no pack size recorded)
Why this quantity?
29.7 m²
Exterior Paint Calculator
Base
7.57 L
Allowance
+0 L · none added
Adjusted
7.57 L
Order
7.57 L (no pack size recorded)
Why this quantity?
7.57 L

Estimates, not a quote. Each row gives its base, the allowance on top, the adjusted figure and what to order; change an allowance on the row, or open its reasoning to see every figure it rests on. A trade's own page carries what it does not cover — open the one you are about to order against.

Labour and programme

Person-hours for the rows going in, from trade rules of thumb: a range for each piece of work, never a price.

  • House Wrap1.1 h (0.6–2.2)
  • Siding17 h (9.1–33)
  • Exterior Paint5.0 h (2.8–11)

About 23 person-hours in all, between 12 and 47.

Trade by trade

  1. Carpenter1 carpenter + 1 labourer1 day
  2. Painter1 painterhalf a day

About 1½ days, one trade after another at eight hours a day. Left out: drying and curing, deliveries, inspections, trades overlapping.

Labour and programme

Person-hours for the rows going in, from trade rules of thumb: a range for each piece of work, never a price.

  • House Wrap1.1 h (0.5–2.2)
  • Siding16 h (8.9–33)
  • Exterior Paint4.9 h (2.7–11)

About 22 person-hours in all, between 12 and 46.

Trade by trade

  1. Carpenter1 carpenter + 1 labourer1 day
  2. Painter1 painterhalf a day

About 1½ days, one trade after another at eight hours a day. Left out: drying and curing, deliveries, inspections, trades overlapping.

Setups you have saved

The build-up, the dimensions and any allowance you changed — kept on this device, and reusable on any job. Your prices are not copied in: they stay in your price book, so a setup never holds a stale one.

How far does a budget go?

At your own prices, with this build-up unchanged.

About this job

Cladding a wall is a layered job where each layer is measured differently. The weather-resistive barrier goes by area with laps, the cladding goes by the area it has to cover, which the product's exposure then turns into boards or panels, and the finish goes by area again but against a coverage rate that changes with the profile and how absorbent the surface is. One wall measurement feeds all three; the layers between them do not come from it.

Exposure is the thing a wall's dimensions cannot tell you. The same elevation in a sheltered courtyard and on an exposed gable takes different laps, different fixings and often a different finish specification.

The cladding row is the area to be covered, with a cutting allowance, and it does not move with the exposure. Panels sold by stated coverage are divided by the coverage on the box. Boards differ from their face by more than people expect: a lap board 150 mm (6 in) wide laid to a 125 mm (5 in) exposure covers five sixths of what its width suggests, so the run to order is the area divided by the exposure, not by the board — and the exposure is set by the fixing pattern and the manufacturer, not chosen. Change it by a single course to land the courses level at a window head and that run moves with it.

How each line reads

Base
What the calculator gives for these dimensions, before anything is added.
Allowance
Cutting waste, a lap or spare stock — named, with where it comes from, and changeable on the row.
Adjusted
The base with its allowance on top.
Order
What to buy: the adjusted figure in whole boards, bags, rolls or lengths.

The order this happens in

Quantities do not tell you the sequence, and on this job the sequence is where the money goes wrong.

  1. Sheathe and make good, then check the openings are square and the sills fall outward.
  2. Hang the weather-resistive barrier from the top down so every lap sheds water.
  3. Flash the openings and any penetration before the cladding hides them.
  4. Batten where the build-up calls for a drained and ventilated cavity.
  5. Clad from the bottom up, keeping the courses level around the building.
  6. Finish, and keep the first coat within the manufacturer's window after fixing.

What this takeoff does not cover

  • Sheathing, battens and the cavity itself — the build-up is a specification, not a consequence of the wall's size.
  • Flashings, trims, corners, starter strips, soffits and everything around an opening. These follow the building's detail and are where a cladding estimate usually falls short.
  • Insulation, whether in the wall or over it.
  • Openings are not deducted: the area here is the gross elevation, which is the right basis for ordering barrier and finish and an over-estimate for cladding on a heavily glazed wall.
  • Access. Scaffold or a tower is usually the largest single cost on an elevation and does not scale with area.

Quote check

Been given a quote for this job?

Paste it into the external wall finish quote check. Every line of it is read against these same calculators and your measurements. Quantities only, never prices.

Check the quoteEvery quote check

  • What it leaves out

    Every line this takeoff has that nothing on the quote reads as.

  • What it adds

    Labour, removal, hire, fees — each named for what it is.

  • What to ask

    One list of questions, ready to copy. Never a verdict.

More takeoffs

Other job takeoffs

All job takeoffs

Frequently asked questions

What does the external wall finish takeoff give for a typical job?
Opened at Wall length 10 m · Wall height 2.7 m, it orders: House Wrap, 1 roll; Siding, 29.7 m²; Exterior Paint, 7.57 L. Opened at Wall length 33 ft · Wall height 9 ft: House Wrap, 1 roll; Siding, 3.27 squares; Exterior Paint, 2 gallons. Every figure follows the dimensions you give it.
Which calculators does the external wall finish takeoff run?
3 calculators, one to a line: House Wrap Calculator, Siding Calculator, Exterior Paint Calculator. Each has a page of its own with its formula and its sources; the takeoff runs them all on one set of dimensions.
What does the external wall finish takeoff leave out?
5 things, each named on this page: Sheathing, battens and the cavity itself; Flashings, trims, corners, starter strips, soffits and everything around an opening; Insulation, whether in the wall or over it; Openings are not deducted; Access.
Can I check a quote for this job against the takeoff?
Yes. The external wall finish quote check reads a quote's lines against these same calculators and your measurements, and reports what it leaves out, what it adds and what to ask. It reads quantities, never prices.